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Contents contributed and discussions participated by Maria Zuniga

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Maria Zuniga

Top recruiting trends for hotel Human Resources - 2 views

www.hcareers.com/...ends-for-hotel-human-resources

shared by Maria Zuniga on 04 Dec 17 - No Cached
  • Business and leisure travel activity has recently increased and your guests expect a unique and memorable experience for spending their hard-earned dollars at your hotel.
  • n addition to staying ahead of the curve with new technology, amenities, and conveniences for your guests, the same is true for your employees.
  • By 2022, the hospitality industry will support 328 million jobs: that’s 10% of the U.S. workforce and represents a 49% increase in job postings since 2013.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • It’s a people business and keeping your employees happy and engaged is a big part of talent attraction and retention.
  • The Affordable Care Act 
  • Baby Boomers are retiring
  • Service Staff 
  • Technical & Professional Staff 
  • New technologies in reservations, room upgrades, amenities, etc., means more technology specialists to provide reliable service
  • Hiring at the Managerial Level
  • 67% of professionals state they’re searching for a more interesting challenge when they change jobs and more than half are looking for a better work-life balance.
  • Companies are also planning to diversify their management demographics to include more women and to promote younger and diverse employees into management roles. Career recruitment events (held at your hotel) attract large numbers of diverse and qualified applicants that you can meet in person, thereby reducing the hiring time required.
  • Keeping your staff engaged, happy and motivated are key factors in retaining talent. Stay on top of your skill gaps by monitoring your people analytics, providing career development and education to those already working with you and promoting from within.  Keep your wages in line with current salary statistics and look beyond the borders to hire workers with H-1B visas to hire temporary workers for special occupations
  • Maria Zuniga on 04 Dec 17
     
    This article is very interesting because it shines light on the importance of using technology for HR purpose. It discusses the issues being faced that need to be resolved. It is important to note the generational differences and the social responsibility aspect.
Maria Zuniga

Hospitality Employees Play Big Role In Sustainability Efforts - Facilities Management G... - 3 views

www.facilitiesnet.com/...anagement-Green-Feature--13929

shared by Maria Zuniga on 23 Jul 17 - No Cached
  • While guests sometimes offer new ideas, they come and go constantly, are generally only on the premises for a short period of time, and don't exactly expect to be asked to be part of conservation efforts beyond deciding whether they want their towels washed every night or not.
  • When it comes to the environment, employees leave a big footprint
  • As a result, they're watching their fellow employees and holding each other accountable because they understand that every little bit counts."
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  • A side benefit of involving non-facilities employees in sustainability efforts is the force multiplier effect
  • Maria Zuniga on 27 Nov 17
     
    This article was very interesting as it shined a light on the importance of employees participating in sustainability efforts.
Maria Zuniga

5 Profitable Internet Marketing Strategies for Hotels - 0 views

www.webpagefx.com/...hotels

shared by Maria Zuniga on 16 Nov 17 - No Cached
  • If you're a hotel owner, chances are you are always looking to attract new guests to your location
  • Hospitality marketing is not always easy
  • Optimize your website for search engines
  • ...15 more annotations...
  • One of the most crucial strategies for hospitality marketing involves ensuring the visibility of your hotel's website on search engines
  • Having this information available up front can provide enormous benefits for your hotel. If you neglect this strategy in your hotel Internet marketing plan, you will be sacrificing many potential guests. One study found that 40% of mobile searchers are looking for travel-related information, like hotels, are likely to place phone calls if the option is available. Setting up your Google My Business page can make that option available instantly!
  • Research has shown that the top result in searches gets around 33% of clicks. This drops to 17% for the second result and 11% for the third. If you're on the second page, you're looking at about 1% or less.
  • Strengthen your local SEO
  • earch engine optimization involves making critical updates to your website's content, code, links, and occasionally layout to improve its likelihood of ranking in user searches.
  • Encourage interaction on social media
  • Because hotels may have a hard time gaining a large number of engaged fans to consume their content or make future bookings, a shift in approach is recommended. For hotels, social media can be an incredible way to encourage interaction with past, current, or future guests, solve customer service issues in a timely manner or highlight the positive experiences that guests have had at your hotel
  • Linking to your social media pages from your hotel website, and ensuring that they are checked regularly, can help encourage potential guests to contact you there. You may also want to add a tagline to your website, such as, "contact us on Facebook or Twitter with any questions we may answer about your stay"—to encourage this behavior.
  • Social media also helps humanize your business so that you can more easily relate to customers, making it a valuable part of an overall hotel internet marketing strategy.
  • Educate guests with content marketing
  • you may know that adding informative, keyword-rich content to your website is one of the best ways to improve your ranking on search engines
  • Dominate your competitors with PPC
  • nternet marketing for hotels can be highly challenging if you operate in a city that is a popular vacation spot or tourist attraction.
  • Pay-per-click advertising, or PPC, is another way that you can boost your hotel's visibility in search results. Searches on Google don't deliver just natural (also called "organic") results—they also deliver paid ads that have been placed there by companies or businesses.
  • PPC advertising works like this: your hotel sets up ads around certain relevant keywords, like "hotel in [city][state]." You then bid a certain amount, usually suggested by Google, to have your ads appear at the top and along the sides of organic search results. You don't pay anything for your ads unless they are clicked—thus the name "pay-per-click."
  • Maria Zuniga on 16 Nov 17
     
    This article was very interesting because it provided us with 5 different strategies to effectively use e-marketing for hotels. The five strategies they come up with are: Optimize your website for search engines, Strengthen your local SEO, Encourage interaction on social media, Educate guests with content marketing, and Dominate your competitors with PPC. All of these are very helpful hints that we might have heard of before, but it is crucial to go more in depth. I found very interesting that all of them are free except for the last one that requires a bit of an investment.
Maria Zuniga

Event Planning In The Hotel Of The Future - 1 views

www.eventmanagerblog.com/t-planning-hotel-of-the-future

shared by Maria Zuniga on 09 Jul 17 - No Cached
  • he idea of using robots could help break down the language barrier that is sometimes the case when planning in other countries as these robots are naturally multi-lingual and can adapt to the language you are using.
  • This includes robot butlers, entertainment, greeters and business services which for planning events can be more cost effective and reduce human error, streamlining the process of communicating with the systems to get exactly what you want.
  • As one of the strongest drivers for change in the event industry, technology plays a prominent role in the planning and management of events
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  • It could also be the case that it loses that human touch for the guests and when quick problem-solving is needed, robots won’t be able to deal with this as intuitively as they follow set protocols.
  • With 3D bio-printing currently being researched, it is not a huge leap to consider 3D printers in hotel rooms that can accommodate products such as headphones or clothing and accessories
  • Based on votes and crowdsourcing, venues can be made-to-order and self-assemble the environment around them to suit.
  • Larger venues and associated grounds could create an event in themselves by recreating famous landmarks or even movie settings that could be explored.
  • Based on your DNA, own health and genetics you would be able to visit health centers and spas that could promote longevity. It could become the latest trend in bachelorette parties or healthy event experiences that cater to the health conscious.
  • A hotel that is short-term and could pop-up in limited spaces would work hand in hand with pop-up events and mean they could be reproduced on a larger scale.
  • It is suggested that fast and effective hovering, autonomous airport transfers would be able to go supersonic in order to beat the traffic and reduce the journey. If this is the case it could free up plenty of time on the itinerary for corporate or destination events and this means providing a better experience.
  • As sustainability and environmental issues are becoming an increasing concern and given prominence, it makes sense that future hotels and venues would plan sustainable events and accommodation
  • Sustainable hotels that produce and operate on clean, self-sustaining energy will become a viable option for the environmentally conscious guest and the suggestion is that all hotels would have the option to become sustainable.
  • These would work in a similar way to how a concierge app works now and would streamline the travel bookings and searches. In the same way that Siri can help you access items from the internet or your phone, these avatars would be a more complex and capable version that cuts out the need for travel agents
  • rom biometric payment systems which can greatly reduce the risk of identity theft to eye scanner room entry, DNA authorizations will be more popular. As technology develops, so does the need for security
  • Maria Zuniga on 07 Nov 17
     
    This article is very interesting because it lists all the ways that event planning will be in the future because of technological advances. It talks about autonomous staff, 3D shopping, made-to-order venues, personalized longevity health spas, pop-up hotels, supersonic air travel, sustainable hotels, personal travel avatars, and DNA authorization. The article describes the benefits and downfalls to each one and puts emphasis on the fact that these advances are closer than we can imagine.
Maria Zuniga

Cyber and data security in the hotel industry - PwC Middle East - 0 views

www.pwc.com/...ity-in-the-hotel-industry.html

shared by Maria Zuniga on 02 Nov 17 - No Cached
  • In the Digital Era, technology is everywhere; people can connect to your company, your employees, customers, providers and competitors through laptops, smartphones and even wearable devices.
  • With increasing reliance comes increasing risk, many of which are outside the Enterprise’s control.
  • Legal and regulatory problems bring their own special range of issues. Locking horns with regulators, litigants and judges is the last thing that business needs.
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  • This is a landmark piece of legislation that will radically change our perceptions on how personal data should be handled in business
  • The simple truth is that cyber security and data privacy problems can be big news and newsworthiness drives awareness levels
  • Cyber and data security emerged to prominence as a massive risk area, due to a series of high profile breaches affecting payment cards
  • There is also the economic interest in gaining commercial advantages from the use of personal data. Gaining better customer insights and providing them with personalised services are now recognised by many in the hotel industry as core business goals.
  • The purpose of the GDPR is to put people back in control of their personal information and to improve how entities look after personal information while it is in their custody.
  • when things go wrong and they are fully aware of the fact that some of the world’s biggest, richest and more powerful entities have been humbled by poor approaches to security and privacy.
  • This case has established a need for the development of comprehensive information security programmes, annual security audit cycles and post-incident investigations in the hotel sector.
  • Businesses need to think about trust, confidence and brand health and reputation.
  • they have to do much more to tackle the security and cyber risks they face and to live up to the expectations that society places in them
  • People responsible for security and privacy in hotels ought to ask themselves whether their entities have appropriate Visions for desired end states. If not, they should bring together the stakeholders to discuss ways to take things forward.
  • regulation is seen as the antidote to market imperfection.
  • Trust, confidence and brand health may operate in a different timeframe to share prices.
  • In other words, suffering security and privacy failure might be like a cancer, where the harm is hidden from view until it is too late. This returns the focus to legal risk.
  • Maria Zuniga on 02 Nov 17
     
    This article is extremely important. I feel like everyone should read it because it goes hand in hand with what we have learned this week in class. The topic of cyber security is something that people need to shift paradigms. This article brings us great points about the digital era we live in. since everything we do in business now a days has to do with technology, it is important to have security and trust in this. With the increase reliance on this technology comes a higher risk. The article brings up that awareness levels of cyber security and data privacy issues are growing at a steady pace. It is extremely important that in the hospitality industry, Businesses think about trust, confidence and brand health and reputation. This highlights the fact that it doesn't matter if security systems are costly, in the long run if something goes wrong that will end up being the most costly. The article mentions that there will be a regulation established by the EU called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The purpose of the GDPR is to put people back in control of their personal information and to improve how entities look after personal information while it is in their custody. In conclusion, this gives companies a competitive advantage.
Maria Zuniga

How to Invest in Hotel Real Estate - CrowdStreet - 0 views

www.crowdstreet.com/...how-invest-hotel-real-estate

shared by Maria Zuniga on 29 Oct 17 - No Cached
  • Commercial real estate investments are subject to shifts in supply and demand that can have a notable impact on net operating income, profitability and yield
  • hotels have the ability to mark rents to market on a daily basis. The upside of that flexibility is that hotels can quickly react to heightened demand and improving economic conditions and raise room rates as much and as fast as the market will bear.
  • The flip side of this fluidity is that hotels are more susceptible to operating fluctuations when compared to other asset classes.
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  • Hotels are defined primarily by the services and amenities that they offer.
  • Full-Service
  • Limited-Service
  • Budget
  • Extended Stay
  • OTAs have had a major impact on how hotels are booked since their inception some twenty years ago
  • ADR = Room Revenue / Rooms Sold
  • RevPar = Occupancy Rate x ADR
  • The two core customer groups that fuel demand for hotel rooms are tourism and business travelers
  • Hotels have unique industry standard metrics to track performance and growth, which include average daily rates (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPar)
  • Demand drivers can change as a metro grows.
  • The hotel industry has seen substantial change both in terms of how hotels are developed and used as well as how they are marketed. Most changes in use are rooted in the adoption of technology.
  • Hotels also can benefit from locations adjacent to or near convention centers.
  • illenials are driving changes in use of practically everything they touch and hotels are no exception. Through their desire for affordable yet “cool” hotels in urban locations, hotel brands have been rapidly evolving to deliver concepts that cater to their tastes
  • While some pundits argue that the Millenial hotel is a fad, it is nonetheless changing the industry landscape and bringing a new breed of hotel to a magnitude of urban destinations.
  • nother way in which technology is changing the use of hotels is by enabling guests to redefine the period of the traditional night stay.
  • These apps are yet another example of how technology can be used to generate efficiencies – in this case to fill intraday hotel vacancies that would otherwise go unused.
  • Anyone who has traveled for either business or pleasure can grasp the basic building blocks of a successful hotel investment, which include: product offering, service, location, and competitiveness.
  • It also doesn’t require an industry veteran to appreciate that investing in a five-star hotel doesn’t necessarily correlate to earning five-star returns.
  • The takeaway is that hotels across all categories and price points have their own market segments, competitive sets and corresponding metrics. The key is to conduct a comparative analysis amongst similar hotels in order to determine whether or not the subject asset stands to win greater than, equal to or less than its fair share of its market demand.
  • There are a variety of entry points into hospitality real estate investments with a host of strategies
  • Maria Zuniga on 29 Oct 17
     
    This article is very interesting because it breaks down everything about investing in the hospitality industry. Hospitality is one of the few properties that shift in supple and demand can be felt immediately. The article explains that hotels have no lease agreement so they are able to market on a daily basis. This is why they are able to raise the prices on the rooms. I really like how the article describes the key metrics used to evaluate hotel performance. The article also explains recent changes in the hospitality industry that have brought to the market new types of hotels. It is important to note that the two core customer groups that fuel demand are tourism and business travelers.
Maria Zuniga

Hyatt Hotels discovers card data breach at 41 properties - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...at-41-properties-idUSKBN1CH2WP

shared by Maria Zuniga on 23 Oct 17 - No Cached
  • it had discovered unauthorized access to payment card information at certain Hyatt-managed locations worldwide
  • Hyatt said the incident affected payment card information, such as, cardholder name, card number, expiration date and internal verification code, from cards manually entered or swiped at the front desk of certain Hyatt-managed locations
  • cyber security team discovered signs of the unauthorized access in July and launched an internal investigation, completed on Thursday, that resolved the issue and took steps to prevent this from happening in the future.
  • Maria Zuniga on 23 Oct 17
     
    This article is very interesting because it shows that the accounting in hospitality industry is never safe. It is crucial to have POS system that are secure as well as having managers that are on top of their duties. The article stated that a total of 41 properties were affected by this and that it hasn't been the first time. This is a call to action for Hyatt as well as other hotels to be more aware of their money.
Maria Zuniga

Blog | History of POS in hospitality industry | intelligentpos - 1 views

www.intelligentpos.com/...oint-sale-hospitality-industry

shared by Maria Zuniga on 09 Oct 17 - No Cached
  • Whether it is a hotel requiring integration of room rates and billable amenities, or a restaurant incorporating both front and back-end activities, the point-of-sale (POS) environment is critical to successful operations
  • the first cash register was invented in the late 1800s? From those earliest days through to the early 1980s, manual cash registers were combined with paper transactions to keep track of everything occurring within the hospitality business.
  • there was no way to integrate what happened at the counter with back office operations. Companies were still required to enter the same data two and three times by way of manual transcription.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • The mid-1990s saw the development of POS software that could be run on a standard computer. The electronic cash register was replaced with a desktop computer system consisting of a monitor, keyboard, CPU, and cash drawer.
  • a number of well-known software companies began working on technology that could link software systems across a local network
  • Cloud computing really took off at the turn of the 21st century. It is cloud computing that forms the basis of today's electronic point-of-sale systems (EPOS) now used by virtually every company in the hospitality industry. EPOS makes it possible to integrate nearly every aspect of a hospitality business into a single system located on the cloud.
  • Maria Zuniga on 09 Oct 17
     
    I found this article very interesting because it gives us a walk through of the evolution of POS in the hospitality industry. Since the very beginning hotels and restaurants have relied on keeping record and storing data. Throughout the years there have been great breakthroughs that have made the life of the employees easier as well as lead to greater productivity. It makes me happy and feel very fortunate to live in times where work has been facilitated and has made work for efficient and reliable. I am sure that there is still much work to be done and many adjustments to be made but we are on a good path.
Maria Zuniga

Bunkhouse Group adds property-management-system mobility | Hotel Management - 0 views

www.hotelmanagement.net/...y-to-its-independent-portfolio

shared by Maria Zuniga on 03 Oct 17 - No Cached
  • Bunkhouse Group, which is based in Austin, Texas, has partnered with StayNTouch to deploy its Rover property-management system and Zest products at Bunkhouse's seven hotels
  • At Bunkhouse we create totally immersive experiences that extend beyond the typical front desk and the guestroom
  • StayNTouch can integrate multiple cloud-solutions on one platform
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • As we develop future projects, we will continue to innovate on the guest experience and so require a technology platform that will grow and evolve with us
  • Maria Zuniga on 03 Oct 17
     
    I found this article to be very interesting because it gives us an example of a specific Property Management System. It is crucial to know the importance of all the "add-ons" and features that different PMS's have to know which one is the best. There might be a numerous amount of options for your company, so it is good to research a few to know which one fits best for your needs. It is interesting to see how there are different PMS programs being tested. This proves that there is a lot of competition.
Maria Zuniga

Restaurants Serve New Sustainability Initiatives | GreenBiz - 0 views

www.greenbiz.com/...new-sustainability-initiatives

shared by Maria Zuniga on 29 Sep 17 - No Cached
  • The National Restaurant Association (NRA) wants to lighten its industry's environmental impacts with a new initiative aimed at helping restaurateurs implement eco-friendly business practices.
  • All restaurants, no matter how large or small -- from big corporations with thousands of franchised locations to small, independent neighborhood eateries -- can do their part, at the pace they can sustain, to reduce our industry's impact on the environment and conserve resources for future generations,
  • The NRA's Conserve initiative will include a website with advice for restaurants, as well as case studies, best practices and no-cost ideas.
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  • The GRA also will serve as a resource for PepsiCo Foodservice customers interested in environmental site assessments, cost-benefit analyses and opportunities to incorporate sustainability into their operations.
  • Maria Zuniga on 29 Sep 17
     
    This article is very interesting because it talks about the green initiatives restaurants want to take. It is very important for the hospitality industry to be pioneers to taking green initiatives using IT. It is beneficial not only to the environment, but also to the customers to operate more efficiently. This change will help future generations. Business as usual will not be acceptable or will be less profitable. Companies need to react to the new trends of eco friendly products and services.
Maria Zuniga

Announcing the E-Business Fair 2017 - 0 views

techpoint.ng/...ncing-the-e-business-fair-2017

shared by Maria Zuniga on 11 Sep 17 - No Cached
  • The E-Business fair, Africa’s largest business fair that connects micro, small and medium enterprises on the biggest scale the continent has ever seen,
  • E-Business and the Growth of Your Enterprise”, it illustrates how micro, small and medium enterprises can grow by taking advantage of the internet era and technologies to leapfrog their business to success.
  • Connectnigeria.com CEO, Mr. Emeka Okafor, cited the importance of using technology as a low cost tool for improved market share.
  • Maria Zuniga on 11 Sep 17
     
    This article was very interesting because it highlighted the importance of e-commerce. The fact that Africa is hosting its 6th e-commer fair, shows how in every part of the world, and any type of company is using e-commere.
Maria Zuniga

Modernizing federal IT networks is something everyone should get behind - FederalNewsRa... - 0 views

federalnewsradio.com/...ing-everyone-should-get-behind

shared by Maria Zuniga on 11 Sep 17 - No Cached
  • But while the MGT Act focuses primarily on the need to upgrade individual IT systems, agencies should start their modernization initiatives right at the network level.
  • These systems must be modernized for better efficiency and to be able to detect, defend and evolve against today’s cyber threats
  • Something that was built in the 1970s wasn’t designed to work in 2017, let alone withstand a modern cyber attack.
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  • many of the network technologies that government agencies have used for years no longer cut it in today’s cloud-driven world
  • Big Data continues to grow, use of mobile technologies has become pervasive, and the Internet of Things (IoT) has gone from promise to reality
  • Hybrid IT networks are becoming more commonplace in the public sector.
  • Managers must investigate and consider deploying solutions that can provide insight into the network operations and applications wherever they may reside, both on- and off-premises
  • Maria Zuniga on 11 Sep 17
     
    This articles brings importance to the fact that companies should take initiatives to modernize networking. It explains how new technologies will improve every area of a business.
Maria Zuniga

The 5 Most Popular Hotel Management Software Solutions For Small Hotels Compared - Capt... - 1 views

blog.capterra.com/ions-for-small-hotels-compared

shared by Maria Zuniga on 31 Aug 16 - No Cached
  • For hotels, finding the right software fit is especially important, because without a suitable software solution, you’re wasting time and money—big things that take you away from your customers and keep you from providing a stellar guest experience.
  • Oracle Hospitality’s OPERA Property is a comprehensive and scalable solution that comes in three levels (Premium, Standard, and Lite) and is also available for both cloud and installed deployment. Any property from boutique to chain hotels can make use of this popular solution.
  • More than one million daily transactions in 104 countries happen across this hotel property management solution, resulting in 90,000 rooms managed across the globe. Ten years in the industry give eZee Frontdesk more than 4,700 customers and 70,500 users.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Because this solution was developed by long-time members of the hotel industry, you can be assured that roomMaster will satisfy all your needs out for a great hotel PMS.
  • This cloud-based property management solution has been around since 1990 and is great for hotels looking to keep costs down by bypassing the purchase of additional hardware.
  • Frontdesk Anywhere is based in the technology capital of Silicon Valley.
  • its special emphasis on helping small properties, even something as small as a timeshare, earned it a spot on this list.
  • Maestro aims to simplify things, enabling hotel managers to run everything from one dashboard.
  • Maria Zuniga on 03 Sep 17
     
    I found this article to be very interesting. This article gives us a walk through 9 different software solutions for small hotels. This article made it very clear to me that in the hospitality industry it is crucial to find the right software that best matches your hotel. Software has an immense impact on the overall experience of the guests and that brings credibility and customer loyalty. The articles gives us the positive and negatives of each of these systems. This made me realize, that as an aspiring hospitality industry employee and manager, it is crucial to learn about these programs and use them properly.
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